Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-16
NAVAL NOTES.
A Cruiser to be Construct.
ed at San Francisco.
PERILS OF DEEP HARBORS.
A Canadian Cruiser Said to Have
Attacked and Sunk an Ameri-
can Fishing Vessel.

lhssOCldtcu ITtSs DlSphtcucs W tlc hcTbiuI
WASHINGTON, August 15.-The Sec
retary of the Navy to-day awarded
contracts for constructing five new
naval vessels, for which bids were
opened recently. Cruiser No. l, the
Newark, is awarded to Cramp & Sons,
for 81 ,24S 900. Cruiser No. 4, to Cramp
& Sons, for 81 $50, 900. Cruiser No. 5,
is the Union Iron Works of San Fran
cisco, for 81 ,42S,0O0. For gunboats
No. 3 and No. A, to N. +. Palmer jr. &
Co. of New York (Roach's assignees)
at $500, 900 each.
QUESTION RAISED.
The bid of the Union Iron Works of
San Francisco for the contract of one
of the new cruisers was the subject of
correspondence between Secretary
Whitney and the President. The bid
of Cramp Il Sons for cruisers four or
five, was 81 ,410, 900, and that of the
Union Iron Works was 81 ,428, 900.
The Secretary left it to.the President
to decide whether the bid of the Union
Iron Works is a fair price for the work
or not.
} THE PRESIDENTS ANSWER.
In reply to a letter from Secretary
Whitney, the President made the fol-
lowing reply: ... 81
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, August Is, 1875
Under provisions of Congress au-
thorizing the construction of the ships
herein referred to, which Act requires
that one of the said ships should be
built on the coast of the Pacific Ocean
or waters connected Herewith, unless
same cannot be there constructed at a
fair price, and the bid of the Union
Iron Works, of San Francisco, being
within the said 81 800, 900 of the lowest
bid for the ships to be constructed ac-
cording to the plans of the Navy
Department., which sum of $780,
600 not more than covers the
difference against the Pacific coast of
the cost of necessary transportation of
material, and the bid by the said COM
pany not appearing to be in excess of
the fair cost of said ship, | do hereby,
pursuant to said statute and in accord
ance with the manifest intention OF
Congress in the premises, authorize
and direct that the contract for the
construction of the ship named, to be
built in accordance to the plans of the
Navy Department, be given to the
Union Iron Works of San Francisco.
i. GROVER CLEVELAND.
NEW YoRK's HARBoR ACCOMMODATION.
An official of the Navy Department
is reported to-day as saying: There
are only fourteen war ships in the
world which could not enter the har-
Dor of New York at high water. Nine
OF these are Italian and four French.
Only one (the SULTAN is British.
Three British monsters now building,
the Benbow, Camperdown and Anson,
armed with ITO ton guns, could slide
into the bay of New York with five
inches to spare under their keels.
OUR COAST UNPROTECTED.
The people on the Pacific Coast are
peculiarly open to attack. Amy war
ship in the world could enter the ports
of Santa Barbara, Monterey, Port
Hartford, Santa Cruz, Crescent City.
San Francisco, Trinidad or Mendo-
cino as well as the Puget Sound har-
bors. ,.
THE NEW MONITOR.
The Secretary of the Navy has is
sued instructions to have the work of
completing the monitor Miantonomah,
now lying at the New York navy
yard pushed as rapidly as possible.
Bids for furnishing the material and
articles required will be opened at the
Navy department. on September 10th,
PUSHING THE WORK.
In the meanwhile the Chief Naval
Constructor has received orders from
the Secretary of the Navy to proceed
with the work on the vessel as rapidly
as possible with the model in hand,
and upon receipt of the material and
articles advertised for to prosecute the
work of completion with all possible
dispatch.
NAVY YARD INSPECTION.
Chief Naval Constructor Wilson will
leave Washington in few days under
orders from the Navy Department for
Portsmouth, N. H., where he will in
spect the navy yard. From there he
will go to San Francisco to inspect the
Mare Island Navy Yard and the Union
Iron Works. .a.' ..at
AN AMERICAN VESSEL
Said to Have been sunk by a